FEBRUARY 12, 1925
before the machine went out again was not,
taking into consideration all the circumstances,
called for.
The report also effectively disposes of the allegation
that the machine was overloaded, and the Court of
Inquiry finds that everything points to the engine
having been in perfect order. The swelling in the
petro-flex tubing observed after the accident is
ascribed to the heat from the burning wreck, and the
Court does not consider this can be accepted as a
possible cause of failure in the petrol supply. It
would thus appear that all the commercial interests
concerned have been found in every instance to be
without blame in the matter, as well as the personnel
responsible for the maintenance of the machine.
A considerable amount of space is devoted to the
question of the suitability or otherwise of the Croydon
aerodrome, and, on the whole, the report does not
seem to be impressed by the qualities of the London
air terminus. In fact, in the summary of conclu-
sions, it is stated that " The aerodrome at Croydon
is unsatisfactory. This was not the primary cause
of the accident, and I do not say more than that it
may have been a contributory cause." Personally,
we have never regarded Croydon as anything but
a very poor aerodrome, whether for air race meetings
or commercial flying, and have expressed this opinion
on more than one occasion, and we, therefore, can
endorse the findings of the Court of Inquiry in this
matter—at any rate, in a general way. On the other
hand, it may be argued that if a machine is not
capable of safely getting into and out of Croydon
aerodrome it would have small chance of making
a forced landing with safety while flying across
country, and could scarcely be considered suitable
for cross-country work. However bad Croydon may
be, it is, presumably, a good deal better than the
average field. By this we do not, of course, mean
that a large terminal aerodrome could and should be
as inferior as any convenient field in which an
aeroplane may have to land. That would obviously
be absurd, and we are in favour of all possible improve-
ments at Croydon. In this connection we should like
to place on record as our conviction that when
the Beddington aerodrome is added the present sheds
should be removed from what will then be the centre
of the aerodrome, otherwise the improvements will
be of very little value, as the aerodrome will then
be very nearly as difficult as it now is. The only
advantage of leaving the present sheds would be
a saving in petrol used in taxying.
The report recommends that the Air Ministry
should consider whether a limit should be fixed for
the stalling speed of aircraft carrying passengers.
We have not the space here to go into what is an
extremely complicated question, but would point
out merely that stalling speed per .sv is no criterion
of the safety of a machine in landing, and that
numerous other factors have to be considered.
Altogether, the official Inquiry does not appear to
have taken us any farther, and all that is definitely-
known is that the machine stalled at a low altitude
and crashed nose-on. Thus the accident is one more
of those unexplained happenings by which the history
of flying has, unfortunately, been fairly frequently
marred.
In conclusion, we desire to make a brief reference
to the Coroner's inquest at Croydon shortly after
the accident, and resumed some time later. One
thing that strikes a layman in connection with this
inquest is what appeared to be the unjustifiable
licence possessed by members of the legal fraternity
to make with impunity the grossest insinuations
without having to give the fullest proof by evidence
upholding those insinuations. Surely it is time the
wings were clipped of legal luminaries in regard to
putting forward scandalous imputations when they
are under no obligation to supply actual evidence
to justify these suggestions. If they see fit thus to
throw mud without any reasonable justification, thru
the law should not protect them any more than it
protects an Editor who may never have seen some
published slander in his paper, for which he is, and
in our view rightly so, held reponsible.
[Royal Air Force Official: Criwii Copyright w.tned.
VICKERS "VERNONS " AT BAGHDAD : Our photograph shows a squadron of twin-engined Vickers-
Napier " Vernons " at Hinaidi Aerodrome, Baghdad. These machines are used as bombers and troop-
carriers, and are also employed for transporting mails on the Royal Air Force Mail Route between
Cairo and Baghdad.
78